auto darkening welding helmet

[toystory_4wd]

I have had the unpleasant experience of having to weld in the dark on a few occasions. Even with an auto mask, this involves having to strike what I call a "positioning arc", just to see where you are, and where you need to be. I have done this with a fixed shade mask a few times, when an auto wasn't available.

Guy I used to work for wanted me to use a cracked auto. The LCD was damaged and it was letting too much light thru in a few places. I politely told him to go fly a kite, I was pulling a work refusal until the situation could be remedied. No paycheck is worth guaranteed optical damage. It's amazing how fast a replacement mask showed up on my jobsite.

[Br@ndoM@n]

I have welded on many occasions in low light or dark and I would have a helper hold a flashlight to the area and it would be enough.

Only problem I have with my cheap auto dark is when its really sunny outside the **** thing will go dark on u. cheap masks dont have all the adjustability as a nicer helmet so no adjusting for sensitivity and delay and delay is usually high on cheap helmets so u waiting for the thing to undarken. pain in butt when its bright outside and then wants to darken before u get a arc.

Not a problem for people with a indoor shop but I weld 100% outside.

[little billy]

Originally Posted by devino246

5-6 times?? Arc burn once isn't going to damage your eyes in the long run, but 5-6 times and you may have degraded your vision. Most people I know (me included) have it happen once and then never let that happen again.

I weld just about every single day as part of my job. The first time I got it it was the worst, after that it was minor cases but it still feels like sand in the eyeballs. I think it has messed my vision up a bit but not horrible. Like I said once I was just in the vicinity (You catch that watching from 8 feet away?) and ended up waking up at midnight with sandy eyeballs. DONT WATCH!!

[toystory_4wd]

Surprise! There's asian rednecks, too! Why spring for an auto mask when you get newspapers for free???

[devino246]

Originally Posted by toystory_4wd

Surprise! There's asian rednecks, too! Why spring for an auto mask when you get newspapers for free???

I'm not a fan of my face catching on fire

[machinist@large]

Originally Posted by toystory_4wd

Surprise! There's asian rednecks, too! Why spring for an auto mask when you get newspapers for free???

Where in the heck did you find that?!? That's right up there with a story passed on to me by a friend (was the foreman in a shop that did all stainless tig) about an IDIOT who applying for a job that he caught trying to take the welding test WITHOUT THE HELMET!!!

Needless to say, he didn't get the job.

[toystory_4wd]

Originally Posted by machinist@large

Where in the heck did you find that?!? That's right up there with a story passed on to me by a friend (was the foreman in a shop that did all stainless tig) about an IDIOT who applying for a job that he caught trying to take the welding test WITHOUT THE HELMET!!!

Needless to say, he didn't get the job.

Wow... See? Natural selection at work! As for the image, I don't remember- off the interweebs somewhere. I have a folder on my computer dedicated to horrible redneck automotive butchery. I then started adding other equally disturbing pics...

[supermanotorious]

I rock the Harbor Freight AUTO DARKENING HELMET and it works super well, the replaceable splatter guards are cheap and easy to swap, get a 20% off coupon and you'll be well protected, I usually weld in a white cotton tee shirt and leather apron, I put SPF 50 sunscreen on my left bicep to prevent burns from the light, you'd be amazed how well that stuff protects your skin but if splatter lands on my forearm that's a whole nother story...

[Bluethunder3320]

ive done a few tac welds with no helmet just closing my eyes. cause i was probably too lazy to get my helmet.

i have an auto darkening helmet from harbor freight i think it was on sale for $40. it works great, ive had it for almost 2 years now.

[Timtreo]

One thing I didn't go cheap on was a good auto darken helmet. I looked at a bunch of ebay ones but decided my eyes weren't worth taking a chance on with some unknown brand to save a few bucks so I got a Miller. Works great, sensitivity and shade adjustable and uses 2 regular AAA batteries.
Show us some more pics from your horrible redneck automotive butchery folder Toystory

[fowler]

If u ever go to bali u shod see the health and safety
They have no welding mask at all
If they are lucky they get sun glasses
The welders are clapped out **** with hardly any insulation

They are welding on a building site or in a dry dock useing Bamboo for scaffold

I guess that's just the result of a country getting started on heavy industry and pulling them selves out of poverty
Go back to the early 20th century america or Australia and u will find similar standards

[Fabroman]

Originally Posted by fowler

Go back to the early 20th century america or Australia and u will find similar standards

Interesting fact: The climbers who built the Hoover Dam in the 1930s invented the hard hat by dunking baseball caps in tar/bitumen & leaving them in the sun to harden

[Rustydog2010]

I remember a kid at tech reckon'd it was easier to weld without a helmet, so he did! He didn't do to well on the welding test.

[SpeedBoy]

I got flash burns in my eyes myself about a year ago because my helmet's lens was cracked and i had to fix my racing mower at the time to get home so i wasn't stuck in the woods. So happened i had my trailer with me with the genny and welder on it so i didn't have to camp out for the night. Anywho i had it for two days and i couldn't stand to open my eyes. I found out that putting a damp cloth on your eyes makes them feal a lot better.